Freethought & Rationalism Archive

crackrabbit · 01-03-2002, 08:52 AM

Hi, everyone.

Does anyone have any experience with or knowledge about the UU Church? A friend of mine is trying to talk me into going to a service with him. I've done some reading, and it actually seems pretty cool - they welcome everyone, including Pagans, Atheists, Humanists, etc. Also, it seems to be a very gay-friendly church, and they say they're very active socially for civil rights. Has anyone here personally attended a UU church? Is it a positive experience? Would you recommend it? Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Bookman · 01-03-2002, 08:57 AM

Melly, there was a recent <a href="http://ii-f.ws/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=11&t=000442" target="_blank">thread about UU</a> in Secular Lifestyle and Support. It is brief -- only five responses -- but includes some links to get more information.

Bookman

crackrabbit · 01-03-2002, 09:46 AM

Thanks very much, Bookman. That helped a lot. Everything I've read/heard seems really positive, so I'm pretty inclined to give it a go. Thanks again for the link.

Hedwig · 01-03-2002, 01:52 PM

The UU church around here every year would host a gift buying sale through the church for children. Children were lead into a room separate from the parents. They could choose a present for them and have it wrapped and the parents would never know. That seems pretty cool to me...and I even used to go there as a child.

I highly recommend the Unitarian church. A group of pagans I work with locally has been asked a few times to go to the church for service and teach everyone about Wicca. The Unitarians are awesome. At a vigil I attended this year to remember the victims of the witch trials and the holocaust the Unitarian minister got up and prayed...and said the pagan "blessed be" at the end. She was awesome.

Bookman · 01-03-2002, 01:59 PM

Melly's post earlier led me back to the web and the local UU church's web site. They had a link to e-mail the minister, so I did:

Quote:

I was poking about your website earlier today, and it lead me to some thoughts. Please bear with me, as I would like to begin with a little introduction and background. First of all, my wife Karin and I (along with our two children, ages one and three) have talked briefly about attending your church. I am an atheist (and therefore not particularly inclined to attend a church) and Karin is a liberal Christian with beliefs not entirely in line with her current church, St. Anne's Episcopal. She would like to attend church more regularly, but does not want to sacrifice our weekend time together as a family which is all too brief. Also, neither of us wants our children indoctrinated into any of the more dogmatic Christian beliefs at such a young age. As a result, she no longer attends church with any frequency and misses the ritual, fellowship and communion (in the spiritual sense, not the wine-and-crackers sense).

On to my thoughts. Your website gives the following as your "mission and covemant":
We gather in safe and compassionate community, seeking our spiritual truths. We affirm our interdependence, celebrate our differences, and create a thoughtful and harmonious voice for liberal religion. Through the practice of the principles of our faith, we promote social, economic and environmental justice and continue our legacy of respect and acceptance. We covenant together in a spirit of love and freedom.
It further directs one to read Rev. Morn's Sermon on Covenant and Mission, which I have.

Having read all that, I think that Karin would feel right at home in your congregation, and could also attend services and functions without so great an impact upon our time together even should I choose not to go. And why would I? As an atheist, I haven't any notion of what a "spiritual truth" would be, and what its relationship to other kinds of truths would be. Honestly, is there any reason for someone who is quite firmly grounded in naturalism to attend any church, even in such a dogma-free enviroment as yours?

I have to say, I'm left with significant doubts about getting anything out of it myself. Do you have other members of your congregation with similar beliefs, and if so, do you know what value they place on their attendance?

I thank you for the courtesy of a reply and I hope that I have conveyed the hoped-for tone of polite inquiry. When it comes to this topic, I am not always the best judge of how I come across.

Sincerely,
Bryan Weaver

I'll be interested to see what reply I get.

Jobar · 01-03-2002, 05:25 PM

Melly, if you get a chance, speak to ex-preacher about this. He is one of our 'gray eminences' around here, and attends a UU church.

Oh, and welcome to II!

01-03-2002, 08:52 AM	#1
crackrabbit Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Cambridge, MA Posts: 79	Unitarian Universalism Hi, everyone. Does anyone have any experience with or knowledge about the UU Church? A friend of mine is trying to talk me into going to a service with him. I've done some reading, and it actually seems pretty cool - they welcome everyone, including Pagans, Atheists, Humanists, etc. Also, it seems to be a very gay-friendly church, and they say they're very active socially for civil rights. Has anyone here personally attended a UU church? Is it a positive experience? Would you recommend it? Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

01-03-2002, 08:57 AM	#2
Bookman Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Nashville, TN, USA Posts: 2,210	Melly, there was a recent <a href="http://ii-f.ws/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=11&t=000442" target="_blank">thread about UU</a> in Secular Lifestyle and Support. It is brief -- only five responses -- but includes some links to get more information. Bookman

01-03-2002, 09:46 AM	#3
crackrabbit Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Cambridge, MA Posts: 79	Thanks very much, Bookman. That helped a lot. Everything I've read/heard seems really positive, so I'm pretty inclined to give it a go. Thanks again for the link.

01-03-2002, 01:52 PM	#4
Hedwig Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Posts: 3,921	The UU church around here every year would host a gift buying sale through the church for children. Children were lead into a room separate from the parents. They could choose a present for them and have it wrapped and the parents would never know. That seems pretty cool to me...and I even used to go there as a child. I highly recommend the Unitarian church. A group of pagans I work with locally has been asked a few times to go to the church for service and teach everyone about Wicca. The Unitarians are awesome. At a vigil I attended this year to remember the victims of the witch trials and the holocaust the Unitarian minister got up and prayed...and said the pagan "blessed be" at the end. She was awesome.

01-03-2002, 05:25 PM	#6
Jobar Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: secularcafe.org Posts: 9,525	Melly, if you get a chance, speak to ex-preacher about this. He is one of our 'gray eminences' around here, and attends a UU church. Oh, and welcome to II!

Freethought & Rationalism Archive

The archives are read only.